Early Season Top 5 Pitchers

		Coffee Time
		by Carl Coffee

5. – Trey Jardine

(Oakland County Onanism)

The most important asset a team can have is a steady ace pitcher who can throw strikes. Teamed up with Kiefer Haffey, the two Onanism pitchers have given the mostly rookie expansion squad a nice 5-3 early start. Trey is responsible for three of those wins, which is tied for the league lead. Trey has a unique pitching technique as he pitches from the stretch instead of winding up. He is also a rare lefty pitcher. Trey will be given the opportunity to pitch every other game for the Onanism, and if he continues his hot start, he should easily be in the Ringler pitcher All-Star conversation.

4. – Brandon D'Agnese

(Flying Squirrels)

It is probably not fair to put a pitcher who has only thrown one game on this list, but when that one game is 18 innings long and he had 41 strike outs and allowed no runs, that pitcher deserves to be on this list. The non-Constanti lookalike D’Agnese is the ace pitcher the Squirrels desperately needed in order to be competitive. His one game was truly a game for the ages, as Brandon went toe to toe against another stud rookie pitcher, Stephen Farkas. We will know a lot more about Brandon in the upcoming weeks as the Squirrels play eight games the next two weeks, and if everything falls into place, he will get four of those starts.

3. – Craig Skinner

(El Diablos)

All Craig has done this season is go 3-1 with a 0.68 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP, and that puts him at #3?!? Yep. We have seen some outstanding pitching performances in the league, and Craig has once again shined early in the season. The reigning Clown Shu and El Diablos ace has picked up right where he left off in 2013, and I don’t ever expect him to fall off of this list for the next two additions. The Garcia division is no longer the pushover division it used to be, so Craig will really need to step up and carry the load if the ‘Blos want to repeat as division champs.

2. – Austin Bischoff

(Wicked Aces)

Mr. Reliable, Austin Bischoff, remains on the list to no one’s surprise. The Aces only play four games in the first five weeks, so we have a very small sample size for the defending champs in the early season. The games Austin did play were very windy, but he managed to go 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP. His six walks in only 7 2/3 innings is high for Austin, but it’s probably due to the wind. Like Craig, Austin will stay on this list all season unless his arm falls off, but where on the list is the real question? We now have the reigning Clown Shu at #3 and the National Pitcher of the Year at #2. #deargoodness

1. – Stephen Farkas

(Belgian Wiffles)

Belgian’s ace rookie has video game stats, and I always have to look at them 4-5 times to make sure they are real. In three games he already has 82 strike outs and has a WHIP of 0.30. That means on average it takes over three innings for him to allow a runner to reach base. The reality though, Farkas is currently riding a back-to-back perfect game streak where he has struck out 35 of 36 batters. Farkas does have a loss, as he gave up a home run in the 18 inning marathon game vs. the Squirrels, but to his defense he did pitch 17 scoreless innings prior to the homer. Farkas is a unique guy with silly antics, but when he is on the mound it is all business.